Tube-bending machine.



J. F. GAIL. TUBE BENDINC- MACHINE. APPLICATION rum) JULY 19, 1909.

Patented May 10, 1910 J. F. GAIL. TUBE BENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1909.

957,200. Patented May 10, 1910.

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J. F. GAIL. TUBE BENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 19', 1999.

Patented May 10, 1910.

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J. P. GAIL. TUBE BENDING MACHINE. grrmcmmx ILED JULY 19, 1909.

Pdtented May 10, 1910.

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re-u srarpns PATENT onnron.

JOHN F. GAIL, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE smmoNs MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

TUBE-BENDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1910.

Application filed July 19, 1909. Serial No. 508,341.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known-that- I, JOHN F. GAIL, a cit izen of the United States, residing at Keno sha, in the county of Kcnosha and State of \Vrsconsm, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tube-Bendm Mav chines, of which the following'is a sp=;:ifi-

vention being a machine capable of probeing broken away to more clearly illustrate ducing in such pipe or tube a plurality of bends at the same time, whereby the pipe or tube forming the main portion of the head or foot of a metallic bedstead may be readily bent to shape. The novel mechanism for producing the bending is largely automatic in its operation, suitable rotary or traveling bendcrsturning around cur ed forms to produce the bends in the pipe, such benders automatically returning to their original position, at which time abrake is applied to the operating mechanism tostop the parts. f

Various features of novelty and improvement will be made apparent from the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a desirableembodiment of the inventi on.

Referring to the drawings-Figure l is a plan view of my improved machine; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, certain parts the construction; Fig. is an enlarged end view of the appliance; F 1g. 4 is an enlarged cross-section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

/Figs. 5 and 6 are face and edge views, re-

spectively, of a lever controlling the actuation of the clutch. m echz nism.

The machine includes a comparatively longimain frame 10 su ported on suitable legs or standards 11, an at the head or left-- hand end of the machine there is provided a stationary support or table-top 12, the machine bein also equi ped with a carriage 13 adjusta le longitudinally f the frame, that is, toward and from the head :nnport 12, by a screw 14 running lengthwi -f the machine and having a threaded engagement with the carriage 13, this screw at the tail end of the machine being suppli 5". with an operating or turning handle 15. It will,

therefore, be obvious that by turning such handle the position of the carriage or movable support 13 may be readily varied or ad- )IIStQCl. The head support or block 12 has a stationary vertical shaft or stud 16, to 6( which is fastened a round form 17 concave on 1ts edge at 18, asindicated in Fig. 4, to conform to the external curvature or convex surface of the pipe to be c erated upon.

Rotatablc on this shaft or stu 16 below the 5 form 17 I provide an oscillatory toothed or car sector 19, pro'ecting from the u per ace of which is a s aft or pin 20 on w ch is mounted a rotatable bender 21 likewise grooved on its edge at 22, the pipe or tube sector 19, the shaft 24 hearing at its lower end a comparatively large worm wheel 25 -mcshing wlth the teeth of which is a worm 26 on a main shaft 27 extended lengthwise of and in front of the frame 10, being rota-,

table in suitable bearings 28, 29 and 30. .An

adjustable carriage 13 is equipped with a. correspondin bendin mechanism, the same having a stu or sha 31, a grooved form 32', a rotary sector-33, a roller bender 34, and

a vertical shaft 35 havin a inion 36 at its 35 up Jer end and a worm-w lee 37 at. its lower en the latter co-acting with a worm 38 onthe main shaft 27 and adjustable longitudinally thereof so as to maintain its proper engagement with the'worm-wheel 37 in all-" ad usted positions of the tail carriage. ThlS worm 38 is desirably s lined on the shaft 27 and capable of being s 1d len thwise thereof, being referably maintained in proper position y a recessed casting 39 over upping its opposite ends and secured to the movable carriage 13, bars 40 at both the front and back of the frame riding in"guideways 41 on outstanding flanges of the frame, as is clearly shown in Fig. 4. A similar mm struction is also provided for the head worm 26 as illustrated. It will, therefore, be apparent that as the carriage 13 is shifted the worm will be also slid on its shaft 27 and will be maintained at all times in proper rclation with its 035 crating worm-wheel 37. he main shaft 2% is intended to be driven rom a drivin shaft 42 which is connected to the main s aft by a crossedbelt 43 engaging a pulley 44 fixed to the driving shaft and a pulley 45 loose on the shaft 27. This driving shaft 42 is also joined to the main clined surfaces. This clutch sleeve is intended to la operated by a le er 52 fulcrumed on the floor at 53 and supplied with a strap uh-passing around the s eeve, the lever and strap being supplied with the usual internal pins projecting into an annular groove on such sleeve, this construction being old and well known in the art. The top end of this lever 52 is pivoted to a rod 55 which passes through an eye 56 of a bell-cranklever 57 loosely fulcrumed on shaft 24 below the pinion 23. the shorter arm 58 of such lever lyin in the path of travel of a lug 59 extent ing A downwardly from the bottom face of the gear sector 19, as is indicated in Fig. 1. On rod 55 on' opposite sides of the eye 56 of lever 57 I fasten a pair of collars 60 and 61, the rod 55 being also equipped with an outstanding handle 62.

To the front of the machine frame I secure an air chamber or casing 63 having a forward extension 64 equipped with a stuffing box 65 through which slides the stem 66 of a piston 67 in the chamber, the latter near its right-hand end having an air oxhaust port 68. As is illustrated, the forward end of the stem 66 is connected to the lever 52 by a link 69. Compressed air is admitted to a suitably-supported valve casing 70 (Fig. 1) through a supply pipe 71,

and when the valve, of which the stem 72 is shown, is open the air passes through the connecting pipe 73 and a hose 7 4 to the extension 64 and casing or chamber 63. Ad-

,jacent to the -valve and operable on the spring-pressed rod or stem 72- of the normally closed-air valve is a bell-crank 75 equipped at its end with a roller 76 adapted to co-act with a finger 77 carried by the sector 19.

At its tail endthe main shaft 27 is equipped with a brake wheel 78 encircled by a brake strap or band 79, one end of a which is fixed to a standard or support at 80, the other end being connected to one arm of a bell-crank lever 81 suitably fulcrumed at 82, the other end 83 of such bellcrank lever being connected to a brake rod 84 extended longitudinally-of the machine in front of its main frame. Such rod is 'slidable in a bearing 85, being connected thereto by a coil contractile spring 86 tend 'ing to shift the rod and bel1-crank to loosen the brake-strap on the brake wheel. Also fastened to this brake rod are two collars 87 and 88, against the former of which bears a lever 89 having an upstanding arm 90 in the path of travel or a block 91 on the bottom face of sector 19, and a downwardlyextended arm 92 hearing aroller 93 in its bottom bifurcated end. A torsion spring 94 encircles the brake rod between the collar 88 and the lever 89, acting to maintain the lever against the collar 87 and to swing the lever inwardly. as is indicated in Fig. 4, into the path of travel of block 91.

A pair of bent arms 95 connected together at the front of the machine by a rod handle 96 are pivoted at the back of the machine at 97 on depending ears 98 of the supports 12 and 13, respectively, the upwardly bent portion 99 of the head lever 95 being adapted in its upward swinging to engage the roller 93 of the lever 89 and rock the latter on thebrake rod 84 sufliciently against the action of spring 91 to move the arm or portion 90 of the lever out of contact with the block 91 of the sector, whereupon the contraction of spring 86 shifts the brake rod and attached mechanism to throw off the brake. The two arms 93 have loosely con nected thereto a pair of sliding bars 100 movable vertically in suitable guideways in the support 12 and carriage 13, each bar 100 hearing at its top end a recessed holder 101 adapted in its raised position to receive in its notch or cavity 102 the pipe or 'tube to be bent. In order to compensate and allow for the adjustment movement of the carriage 13 the rod handle 96 is made comparatively long, passing through apertures 1n the front ends of the levers 95 and being slidable in such apertures to compensate for the adjustment of the arm 95 mounted on the carriage 13.

To the support or table 13 is secured a longitudinally extended bar such as an angle bar 103, adjustable lengthwise of which I provide a gage 101. In addition the teeth of the pinions and sectors may be inclosed by suitable guards or casings 106, which are shown in some of the figures and omitted from the others for the sake of clearness.

The operation of this improved mechanism is practically as follows: For the rapid bending of the pipes or tubes to be used in the manufacture of bedsteads, two workmen can be advanta eously employed with this machine, one oi whom, located ,at the tail end of the machine, that is the right-hand end as viewed in Fig. 1, inserts the i e or tube 105 to be bent between the roun ormers 17 and 32 and the roller benders 21 and 34, while the latter are in the position indi- .cated in Fig. 1, until such pipe or tube roperly posistrikes the sto 104 which tions the tube or the correct nding. The other workman, standing at the front of the machine, then lifts the handle 96 and during the raising of the head lever or arm 95 the latter strikes the roller 93 of the lever 89,

rocking the same on the brake rod to remove 5 the portion 90 of the lever from engagement with the block 91, whereupon spring 86 shifts the brake rod and attached parts to the left, throwing off the brake. Continued movementof the handle 96 raises the recessed holders 101 into such position that they receive in their cavities or seats 102 the portions of the pipe adjacent to the pair of forms, and during the subsequent bending operation prevent distortion or improper bending of the piece operated upon. -Having lifted the handle, thrown off the L-ibrake, and raised the holders, as indicated, the workman by grasping the clutch. handle 62 pushes the lever 52 to the left, thereby rendering the clutch 49 active and coupling the rotating pulley 45 to the shaft :27, calls I -ing the rotation of the worms 26 and 38,

worm-wheels and 37, shafts 24 and 35, pinions 23 and 36, toothed sectors 19 and 33, and the pair of roller benders '21 and 34, which as they turn or rotate about the formers 17 and 32 bend the ends of the tube or pipe into the dotted line positions indicated in Fig. 1. The parts of the mechanism are so related that when the desired bending has been accomplished the cam finger 77 will strike the roller 76 of the hell crank 75, rocking the latter so as to open the valve 70 and permit the passage of compressed air from the supply pipe 71 through the pipe and hose 73 and 74- to the casing or chamber 63, where it acts upon the front face of the piston 67 to shift the latter and the clutch lever 52 to the right sufiiciently to render the clutch 49 inoperative and couple the reversely-rotating pulley 48 to the shaft 27 by the other clutch 50: the air then escaping through the ort 68. This unclutehing and clutching o the other pulley results in the reverse rotation of the shaft 27, the sectors 19 and 33, the roller benders which they carry, and the intermediate mechanism, the workman quickly extracting} the bent tube from the forming members before reverse movement thereof be ins. \Vhen the sector 19 reaches its initia or original position, the block or finger 59 strikes the short arm 58 of the bell crank lever 57, which was turned somewhat by the engagement of collar 60 therewith during the right-hand shifting of the lever 52 by means of the air-actuated piston, rocking the bell crank lever sufficiently to shift the rod 58 through the medium of the fixed collar so as to bring the clutch sleeve 51 into intermediate or neutral position, that is, the position corresponding to the inactive condition of both clutches, J ich of course results in a cessation of the rotation of the parts. Also when this sector 19 reaches its original position the block 91 strikes the arm 90 of the lever 89, thereby shifting the brake rod 84: and other parts to the right against the action of spring 86, throwing on the brake strap and abruptly stopping the rotation of the shaft 27, it being understood,

of course, that before the workman extracted or pulled out the ben tube or pipe he permitted the levers 95, the holders 101, and the handle 96 to drop, which downward movement freed the lever S9 so as to permit the torsion spring 94 to swing the upper arm 96 of the lever into the path of travel of the block 91. The parts now remain in this position until the first workman inserts another pipe or tube and the operations above described are then repeated, the tubes being bent and finished with considerable celerity.

\Vhereas I have herein setforth with some degree of particularity the minor details of construction'of my referred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that this invention is not limited to the precise structural features shown, since they ma be modified within comparatively wide limits without departure from the substance and essence of the invention.

I claim 1. In a machine of the character described. the combination of a pair of forms, a bender adapted to rotate about each of said forms, a pair of manually-actuated sliding notched holders adapted to engage the tube 0 to be bent adjacent to both of said forms to prevent distortion of the tube during the bending operation, and means to simultaneously rotate said bendcrs whereby a tube introduced between said forms and benders may be bent in two places at the same time, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of forms,

a bender adapted torotate about each of said forms, means to simultaneously rota ;c said benders, whereby a tube introduced between said forms and benders may be bent in two laces atthe same time, means to automatically stopthe turning of said headers and return them to their initial positions after the completion of a predetermined amount of angular turning, a brake for said rotating means, and means to automatically throw said brake into action when said benders reach their initial positions, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of forms, a bender adapted to rotate about each of said forms, means to simultaneously rotate said benders, whereby a tube introduced between said forms and benders may be bent in two places at the same time, movable holders to engage said tube adjacent to said forms to 139 tion when said revent distortion of the tube during the riding operation, means to automatically stop said benders and return them to their initial positions after the completion of a predetermined amount of angular turning, a brake for said bender rotatin means, means to automatically throw said .brake into operation when said benders reach their initial positions, and means to throw said brake out of action when said holders are moved into tube engaging position, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of forms, a air of benders adapted to rotate about sald forms, a driving shaft, driving connections between said shaft and benders, oppositely rotating pulleys loosely mounted on said shaft, clutches to o ratively connect said pulleys to said sha means whereby one of said clutches may be rendered active to cause the simultaneous bending turning of said bendeis about their respective forms, a compressed fluid means to render said clutch inactive and the other clutch active upon completion of the required bending turning of said benders, means movable with one of said benders to control the actuation of said air operated clutch-controlling means, and means to render said second clutch inactive when the benders return to initial position, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a form, a bender, means to turn said bender around said form where; by to bend a tube introduced between said form and bender, a brake for said tnrnin means, means to automatically stop the be ingturnin of said bender and return it to initial position after the completion of a predetermined angular turning, and means to 'antomaticall throw said brake into acnder reaches'its initial position, substantially as described.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a form, a bender, means to turn said bender around said form to bend a. tube introduced between said form and bender, means to automatically stop the bending turning of said bender and return it to initial position after the completion of a predetermined angular. turning, a brake for said bender rotatin means, means to automatically throw sai brake into action when said bender reaches its initial position, a

holder movable to engage the tube to be bent ad acent to said form to prevent distortion of the tube during the bending operation,

' and means whereby during such movement of the holder said brake is thrown out of action, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of the character desc ibed, the combination of a rotatable frame. a former carried axially on said frame, a

bender pivoted to said frame to be bodilycarried about the former upon rotation of the frame, forward and reverse drive mechanism for said frame, means for rendering the forward drive mechanism effective, and pneumatic mechanism operative at the end of the forward movement to set the driving mechanism for reverse operation.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a rotatable frame, a former carried axiall on said frame, a

bender pivoted to sai frame to be bodily carried'about the former upon rotation of the frame, forward and reverse drive mechanism for said frame, means for rendering the forward drive mechanism effective, pneu matic mechanism operative at the end of the forward movement to set the driving mechanism for reverse operation, and means antomatically controlled at the end of the reverse movement of the frame to stop the frame.

9. In a machine of the character described,

.the combination of a rotatable frame, a

former carried on said frame, a bender pivoted to said frame to travel about the 1' ormer upon rotation of the frame, forward'and reverse drive mechanism for said frame, clutch mechanism for controlling the connection of the forward and reverse drive mechanism -with the frame, means for initially moving the clutbh mechanism to connect the forward driving mechanism in service, pneumatic mechanism controlled by the forward rotation of the frame to move the clutch mechanism from the forward driving mechanism and into engagement with the reverse driving mechanism, and means automatically controlled by'the reverse movement of said frame for moving. the clutch mechanism to neutral position to disconnect both drive mechanisms from the frame.

- JOHN F. GAIL.

Witnesses:

J. H. Curwnnn, Jr., C. E. Hawmnr. 

